We've never been on a Pastoral retreat weekend before and so I wasn't sure what to expect. But it was really a neat time of praying, planning, vision casting, laughing and sharing with the church pastoral staff and a couple training in ministry. A family in our church opened up their lake home for us to stay for the weekend with our families. The men went up early on Friday ... Read More »
God
Knowing THIS is a game changer in 2016
You and I have no clue what 2106 holds for us as individuals or as families. Oh sure, we have loose plans or like my type A friends - you have firm plans for every month in 2016. But really when it comes down to it we don't know what tomorrow holds. And that could be really scary. It could be scary as we look back on the past and remember what happened to some of our ... Read More »
How the church can walk beside recovering addicts
I am learning from a new friend who is serving God by showing up weekly and walking beside women recovering from various addictions. Our conversation started with a few questions about how to help those who are struggling with drug and alcohol addictions. What started as a conversation ended in this blog post. Thank you, Sally, for writing this so that we can all have a better ... Read More »
31 Days: Day 16 – The Ministry of Presence
The ministry of presence = showing up and simply being there. It's a powerful statement even when words aren't used. To just be there. Sometimes words are exchanged and God's word is part of that and many times not. Don't feel the need to fill in the silence with words, scripture, stories of how you understand but really you have no idea (and that's not your fault). Silence ... Read More »
31 Days: Day 13 – I got a “C” on my outreach opportunity today at Sam’s Club.
Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. Colossians 4:5-6 Three things come to mind when I see this verse: Be alert to your responses. In line at Sam's when the lady in front of you takes 25 minutes to check out her three ... Read More »
31 Days: Day 10 – Human Trafficking Outreach
My eyes were first opened to the reality of human trafficking (sex slavery, modern slavery) when I attended a conference in Atlanta. A copy of "The White Umbrella" was given to everyone in attendance. For the next several weeks I read a chapter every day in carpool line and it broke my heart. It scared me and it made me overwhelmingly aware of the reality of human trafficking ... Read More »
31 Days: Day 9 – When the mundane turns divine
When you’re entrenched in churchy activities where you’re constantly surrounded by other Christians it means we need to be that much more prayerfully aware of our surroundings in the world through the little things. Our trips to the bank, the grocery store, the office at work, fill in the ___________. It means the mundane becomes the divine and sometimes when we least expect it ... Read More »
31 Days: Day 7 – When outreach doesn’t go like you expected
I shared a story a week ago about a visit to the nursing home. One in which changed my outlook significantly and kept a visual in my mind daily for several weeks. I was so excited to come back here and share the results of my follow-up visit with Ms. Linda. I envisioned she would be so totally excited about the verse of scripture I had written out for her on the beautifully ... Read More »